The driver did, and slowed to the side of the road in front of the house. Lana had joined Dan outside, and she looked as though she was on the verge of hysteria. Dan ran up to the driver’s side window and peered inside.
A woman in her mid-thirties sat in the front seat, wearing glasses and medium sized hoop earrings. She had big breasts, which were clad in a low cut black blouse with the vaguest hint of a red bra underneath. Over that, she wore a white lab coat, and as she opened the door and stepped out, she straightened out behind her.
“How unexpected,” she said as she looked at Dan and Lana. “Were your VR headsets broken when the message went out this morning?”
Dan stared at her, too surprised to know how to respond.
“Broken?” asked Lana. “No, we never had any.”
The woman gave them a skeptical look, and then let out a small laugh.
“Figures. The only people that survive an AI’s takeover by default are the extreme techno luddites.”
Dan furrowed his brow.
“What are you talking about?” he asked her.
The woman looked as though she hadn’t heard him. She looked at her wristwatch, and old school, analog model, and then glanced up at the sun.
“Is there anything in your house that you’re going to need in the immediate future?” she asked them.
Dan looked over at his mom, who shook her head.
“Then come on, climb in,” said the woman. “I’ll explain as much as I can on the way.”
“On the way where?” asked Lana.
“To safety, or at least as close as we can get, given the circumstances.”
Dan looked at his mom for a long moment. He could tell that she didn’t fully trust the woman, but he could also see that she was worried. She finally nodded, and the woman instantly climbed back into the driver’s seat.
“Get in,” she said.
Lana took the front passenger’s seat, and Dan climbed into the back. The second he had his seatbelt on, the woman slammed her foot down on the gas, rocketing the car forward with more speed than Dan had ever seen a car move with on their sleepy, suburban road.
“My name is Dr. Caitlyn Chase,” said the woman. “You can call me Dr. Caitlyn.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Lana. “I’m Lana, and this is my son, Dan.”
“Dan and Lana.” Dr. Caitlyn laughed, and then looked away from the road and towards Dan’s mom. “Under these circumstances, it’s very nice to meet you indeed.”
Dan was still shocked by how empty the road was, and how carelessly Dr. Caitlyn hurtled them down it. The entire town felt as though it had been abandoned, left to its own fate by the people who’d once inhabited it.
“We don’t know what’s going on,” said Lana. “Is there anything you can tell us? Please?”
Dr. Caitlyn slowed the car down. There was a stoplight ahead of them that flashed from yellow to red, and strangely, she stopped for it. She turned at the wheel so that she was looking at both of them, and then sighed.
“Something terrible has happened,” said Dr. Caitlyn. “I’m a researcher, and my focus for the past couple of years has been on AI and its future impact on human society. It’s funny, this entire situation… it’s something that a couple of people in my field have been warning about for a long time. I guess we should have listened.”
“We’ve seen the people with the headsets on,” said Dan. “How is it possible? They’re all blank, as though they were vegetables.”
“The VR headsets only have basic neuro analyzing capabilities,” said Dr. Caitlyn. “Most likely the AI that’s doing this figured out a way to lock people in using visual stimuli.”
“Wait, you’re saying that this is a computer?” asked Lana. “How is that possible?”
The light turned green, and the doctor slammed on the gas again.
“I don’t have answers to all your questions,” said Dr. Caitlyn. “I’ll have a better idea of what’s going on once I get a chance to take a close look at an active headset.”
“Where are we going?” asked Dan.
“To the one place that makes sense to take refuge at in a post-apocalyptic world,” said Dr. Caitlyn, with a smile. “To the mall.”
EI: Erotic Intelligence by Anya Merchant
After the Fall: The Complete Collection (Taboo Erotica) Page 36
